Nox: A Teddy Lupin Story
by im-stuck-in-a-fairytale
Summary: Aged 23,Teddy has finally popped the question to Victoire, his polar opposite. But is another Weasley girl on his mind?
1. Chapter 1: Of Pink And Proposals

Teddy raised his right fist and knocked on the door, his hair black, for a change. Victoire hated it when he made it what she called a "stupid" colour, and he didn't want anything to put a dampener on her evening. The door was opened by Victoire's heavily-scarred father. The years had been good to Bill: he had barely aged in as long as Teddy had known him. Perhaps, though, this was because it was hard to tell which were age lines and which were scars.

"Evening, Teddy," Bill half-smiled.

"Evening, Mr. Weasley." Teddy replied, chirpily. "Is Victoire ready?"

"Not yet, she's doing her hair. Come in, sit down for a moment,"

Teddy followed Bill through to the sitting room, where Victoire's younger brother, Louis, was sat in the corner. Teddy nodded awkwardly at Louis, who nodded awkwardly back. They never had seen entirely eye to eye.

"Are you still planning on proposing tonight?" Bill asked, in a low voice.

"Yes, sir," Teddy said, equally quietly. "I have the ring here. He tapped his pocket. Bill smiled again. "Good luck to you, lad."

They were interrupted by a loud crash, and the door flew open. In stumbled a tall, thin girl, with bright pink hair. It took a moment for Teddy to recognise her as Dominique, Victoire's eighteen-year-old sister, who was five years Teddy's junior. Last time he saw her, her hair had been the same silvery blonde and Victoire.

"Hi Teddy," she beamed.

"Hey, Dom," Teddy said. "Liking the hair."

"Thanks, Mum and Nan hate it," Dom replied, happily.

"All the more reason to keep it," Teddy laughed, allowing his hair to resume it's favourite shade of turquoise.

"Of course. So, all set for the proposal?" Dom said, in a carrying voice. Bill and Teddy shushed her, urgently.

"Dominique Lisette Weasley, if you've told your sister..." Bill began.

"Relax, she doesn't know." Dominique cut him short. "And she won't hear me, either. The Fairy Princess is too busy staring at herself in the mirror." Dom began prancing around the room in a cruel, but accurate impersonation of her sister. Teddy stifled a grin as he caught Bill's eye. Bill shook his head, fondly, at his youngest daughter.

"What're you doing?" Teddy turned around. Victoire was stood in the doorway, looking stunning in a long, pale blue dress, embroidered with tiny flowers. Dominque stopped prancing around the room and stood still, sniggering. Victoire cast her eyes around the room, resting on Teddy.

"Why is it," she said "that every time you take me out, you insist on having a ridiculous colour for your hair?" Too late, Teddy remembered his hair was still turquoise.

"Whoops, sorry!" Teddy focused for a moment, and soon his hair was dark again from root to tip. Victoire's face softened.

"That's better,"

"Right," Teddy stood, and offered Victoire his arm. "Shall we go?"

"I thought you said you were planning something special?" Victoire whined, as Teddy pushed open the door of the Leaky Cauldron. "We always come here! I wouldn't have got all dressed up if I knew you were bringing me here!"  
>"It will be special. Just wait."<br>"If you want it to be special, why would you bring me to The Leaky Cauldron?"

"Because we had our first date here, dimwit. Now shut up and enjoy yourself."

His grandmother, Andromeda, often cast doubt on his relationship with Victoire. She thought she demanded too much, was too high maintenance, didn't understand him. Teddy didn't mind these things. After all, he enjoyed the challenge.  
>They were seated at the table, and Teddy ordered the most expensive bottle of wine in the pub.<br>"Splashing out a bit, aren't you?" Victoire raised an eyebrow.

"It's a special night."  
>"I fail to see what so special," Victoire sniffed. Teddy reached out and took her hand n his.<br>"Victoire, we've been together for four years now, and I think now it's time."  
>He sank to his knees and pulled out the small satin box, opening it to reveal a sparkling diamond ring, nestled in black velvet. He had wanted to give her his mother's wedding ring, but Andromeda refused.<p>

"Will you marry me?" 

For a gut-wrenching, heart-stopping moment, he thought she'd refuse. However, she jumped from her seat, and squealed that of course she would.


	2. Chapter 2: Of Oak Trees and Memorabilia

"I was thinking of a spring wedding," Victoire gushed, flashing her ring around the room. Fleur invited the whole of Victoire's family around for an engagement party, as well as Andromeda and Teddy the night after the engagement. Teddy had spent the past half hour stood next to Victoire's Grandpere Delacour, talking about the retirement of Kingsley Shacklebolt as Minister of Magic. As he glanced around the room, he saw the husband of Victoire's Tante Gabrielle, Dennis, chatting animatedly to a resigned-looking Harry Potter. Ted caught his godfather's eye, and Harry winked.

"I must go and find my wife," Monsieur Delacour said.

"Nice speaking to you, Monsieur," Teddy said politely. When Monsieur Delacour had gone, Teddy felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Shall we get out of here for a bit?" Dominique whispered at his shoulder. "You look as bored as I feel."

Ten minutes later, Dominique and Teddy were lying on a hilltop under an oak tree, having apparated sixty miles away from the party. They were laughing heavily at Grandma Weasley, Grandmere Delacour's, Fleur and Victoire's horror at Dominique's still pink hair. In fact, Victoire's horror at Dominique's whole appearance seemed to be a source of contention for Dom.

"She won't shut up about her stupid ring," Dominique was telling him in between giggles. "Just because it's white gold, with seventeen diamonds. How much did that even cost?"

"I've been saving for three years," Teddy confessed. "And I had to sell some of my mum's vintage Weird Sister's stuff to get it." Dominique sat up, fast.

"You're not serious?" She was looking at him, blue eyes wide.

"Urm… yeah?" Teddy said, confused, sitting up as well. "Why?"

"It's just… it's your mum's stuff, you know? And she's not here anymore. If MY mum wasn't here, I don't think I could ever sell anything that was once hers, for whatever reason."

"It was hard." Teddy admitted. "But at the end of the day, it was just a few signed posters, and T-shirts. And Weird Sister's memorabilia costs a fortune these days, because of that reunion tour they're doing. Everyone wants stuff from the first time round. Plus, I sleep in my Mum's old room, which is full of her stuff since Nan won't decorate it. I have so much that belonged to her, I don't need the things I sold. So it seemed silly to keep it."

"Hmm." Dominique twirled a pink lock of hair around her hair, looking down at her own Weird Sister's T-shirt, which she'd owned since she was twelve, and was now so short and tight it didn't cover her stomach, and was faded by age. Whenever she wore it, Victoire always tried to hustle her back up the stairs to get changed. In fact, Teddy had seen Victoire do this to Dominique many times, in more than just her too-small weird sister's T-shirts and ripped jeans. Teddy, on the other hand, rather liked the way Dominique dressed, for a reason he could never quite put his finger on.

"You don't believe me, do you?" Teddy asked. Dominique bit her lip.

"It's just… sad, you know? I mean, even though it's worth a fortune now, and you have loads of stuff of your mum's… it's still hers, you know? She bought it, and loved it enough to keep it, so clearly it meant something to her."

"So does Victoire," Teddy explained. "And she's never going to accept any ring that isn't spectacular."

"If it were me," Dominique said thoughtfully, lying back down and closing her eyes. "I wouldn't want anything to flashy. Just a simple ring, with one little diamond in it. Silver maybe, so it would match the rest of my jewellery." Teddy flicked his eyes over the black ribbon with a silver dragon dangling from it she had tied around her neck, the million and one silver bracelets she had, piling up on her arm, and the one hoop and two studs that pierced each ear, again both silver. Dominique opened one eye, perhaps to check if Teddy was still there, as he'd been silent for a while.

"What?" She asked.

"It's just…" Teddy said. "You've pretty much described my mum's wedding ring."

"Oh," Dominique rolled onto her stomach and propped herself up on her elbows, so she could look at Teddy. "It must be really hard. I mean, MY mum is a pain in the backside sometimes, but I don't know what I'd do if I lost her. And my dad as well. Only he isn't such a pain in the arse."

Teddy paused for a second. Then he crossed his legs, and looked Dominique straight in the eye.

"Sometimes, it is hard." He admitted. "But the thing that gets me most is that I never knew them. I don't know what they were like, unless someone else has told me it. I don't have any experience first-hand of my own parents. And that's the hardest thing about it. I don't particularly feel sad that they as people aren't here, just them as parents. And it might seem selfish of me, but you can't miss people you don't, and never did, know."

Dominique looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You expect me to believe that? I can always tell when you're lying, Teddy Lupin."

Teddy was staring at her, mouth agape. The truth was, what he just said was something he had parroted from Victoire.

"I can't believe you're missing my birthday," Victoire stamped her foot, on May the first two years earlier when she had come over to collect her present, and he had politely declined her invitation for dinner that night. "My twentieth birthday, Teddy!"

"Victoire," Teddy said, incredulously. "It's the anniversary of my mum and dad's death. I want to stay in, just for tonight. I'll take you out to celebrate tomorrow."

"It won't be the same." Victoire pouted.

"Vic, look, I just want today to sit and mourn my parents. You have no idea how much I miss them.

"How?" Victoire snapped.

"What do you mean how? They're my PARENTS, Vic!" Teddy said.

"But you never knew them!" Victoire yelled. "The only thing you know about either of them is what people have told you! You can't miss people you never even knew. You're being completely ridiculous!"

They had made up, of course, and Victoire had apologised the next day, and asked that Teddy not bring up his feeling on his parents unless absolutely necessary. But Teddy hadn't forgotten her words. It's amazing, he mused, looking at Dominique, that those two sisters, two girls who look so alike, pink hair and clothing aside, could be so different. Victoire would be happy if Teddy never brought up his mum and dad again, whereas Dominique lay in front of him, looking up at him with her blue eyes.

"Perhaps we should go back." Dominique suggested. "They might have put the food out now."


	3. Chapter 3: Of April and Disputes

They were just in time for the food, as well as Victoire's announcement that she'd decided on a wedding date.

"We've been engaged for a day!" Teddy said, incredulously."

"I know, but I want to be married in April. A nice, spring wedding, so the bridesmaids can wear pastels…"

"Excuse me, but by April, you do mean next year?" Andromeda said, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, no." Victoire said happily. "This April."

"That's three months away," Grandma Weasley looked shocked.

"Precisely." Victoire nodded. "So I better get a move on with the plans!"

"Victoire," Bill said, with the air of explaining something to a child. "Marriage is not something you should rush into. Perhaps you and Teddy should wait a while, like your mother and I did."

"But you and Mum had only been together a year when you got engaged, Teddy and I have been seeing each other since I was seventeen. That's five years, Daddy! I'm ready to be his wife! I have been for a long time! It's not MY fault he's taken so long to propose…"

"Just because you're ready," Dominique interjected, in a cool tone "doesn't mean Teddy is. Has anybody asked him whether he wants to get married in three months from now?"

"Of course he does, otherwise he wouldn't have asked me to marry him." Victoire looked close to tears. "Now mind your own business and shut up, Dominique, it's nothing to do with you."

"Last time I checked," Dominique continued, ignoring Victoire's demand she stop talking "an engagement was a promise that you would get married. ONE DAY. Not that you immediately want to rush into a marriage that you're not properly prepared for."

"Who asked you, anyway?" Victoire screamed, leaping up. "Who asked any of you? It's MY wedding day, and if I say I want it in three months, I'll have it in three months! Anybody with a problem with that is not invited!" she threw a pointed glance at Dominique with tear-filled eyes as she spoke the last sentence.

"I don't have a problem with it," Dominique retaliated, equally as angry. "But it is Teddy's wedding too, and if he doesn't want it in three months, what are you going to do about that? You can't de-invite the groom." There was a note of triumph in her voice: she knew she had gotten one up on her sister.

"Well?" Victoire rounded on Teddy, looking slightly deranged. "Do you want to be married in three months."

Teddy looked from Victoire to Dominique, both of whom were looking at him expectantly. Behind them, he could see the rest of the Weasleys, Potters, and his grandmother, watching the proceedings and looking tense, and in some cases, such as Harry's son James, highly entertained.

"Err…" he began. "Well, three months is a bit sooner then I like, maybe next year will be better …" Victoire stamped her foot and burst into noisy tears.

"You don't want to get married!" She wept hysterically.

"Wait, wait, you didn't let me finish!" Teddy said, panicked. "I only think next year is better because it takes time to plan a wedding, I'd marry you tomorrow if I could…"

"That would never work, a winter colour palette doesn't flatter her complexion," Dominique said, acidly. Victoire, however, brightened up at Teddy's words.

"But I've had my wedding planned since I was seven! It won't take long at all to have it perfected!" she said, ignoring Dominique.

"Right…" Teddy said, resigned. "So… April it is."

"Oh Teddy!" Victoire squealed with delight. Dominique raised her eyebrows at Teddy that plainly said 'you don't want to get married in April and you know it so why don't you stop being such a pushover and put your foot down with Victoire?' Teddy ignored her.


	4. Chapter 4: Of Blind Men and Owls

"That," Andromeda said to Teddy as they returned home after the party. "Was quite a scene."

"What are you talking about?" Teddy said, taking off his coat and trying to look as though he didn't know to what his grandmother was referring.

"You know perfectly well what I mean. Victoire, back there. Demanding a wedding in three months. "

"That's just Victoire; she's always like that" Teddy shrugged. "Cup of tea?"

"She's like that all the time?" Andromeda's mouth opened, shocked. "And you just… let her get her way?"

"What else can I do? I love her" Teddy spread his arms wide. "Sometimes it gets irritating, but I have habits that irritate her. Like when my hair's a funny colour. But isn't that what love is? Accepting people for their faults?"

"I would hardly call your ability a fault," snorted Andromeda. "And I like your hair when it's all bright. It's been dark for two days now, and that's just not you, Teddy."

"I'm going to be married soon, I need to get a more sophisticated look," Teddy told her. "Plus I've been with Vic for the past two days, and like I said, she likes it dark, or blonde. If it's anything else, she yells at me."

Andromeda bit her lip. "Teddy… I like Victoire. But I just don't think she's right for you. It sounds like she doesn't exactly love you the way you are…"

"Andromeda, please sit down." Teddy sighed. He had always called his grandmother Andromeda. 'Grandma' had seemed inappropriate: She was more like a mother then a grandparent. And yet he couldn't call her mum, because she wasn't his mum. So she had always been Andromeda to him. She took a seat on the sofa, and Teddy sat on the armchair opposite.

"Despite what you think, Victoire loves me exactly as I am, very much. She just wants me to be the best I can be. She wants me to be taken seriously. And I love her more than anything. And we ARE getting married in three months."

Andromeda nodded. "Just as long as you're certain. I just want you to be happy, Teddy. You're all I have." There was a pine of sadness in her voice. Teddy got up, and hugged her.

"I'll make some tea before bed."

"That'd be nice, love." Andromeda smiled her eyes tearful.

Teddy returned with two cups and saucers, and a packet of ginger newts, and he and Andromeda sat around, discussing the Weasley/Potter family in detail- how grown-up Lily, Albus, and James had got since Andromeda had last seen them, how much happier George was looking these days, how well Percy was doing at work."

"Dominique was a shock," Andromeda said, casually. "Last time I saw her, she was eleven, blonde, and was just about to go to Hogwarts."

Teddy nodded. "She's so funny. We have a lot in common."

"Yes, I enjoyed speaking to her, too." Andromeda raised her eyes to Teddy's "I don't think there have ever been two sisters more different."

"You're sister was a psychotic Death Eater with a sadistic obsession with torture, pain, and murder," Teddy pointed out.

"Well you know what I mean. Victoire's so girly and neat and put-together. Dominique looks like…like…"

"Like her clothes were picked out by a blind man?" Teddy suggested something he had once heard Victoire say. Truth be told, he personally thought Dominique's clothes went together rather well, in their own way. Kind of like a patchwork quilt.

"Well no, I thought she was a lot like…"

Her words were cut short, however, by a tap at the window by an owl Teddy recognised as Victoire's uncle George's.

"Sorry, Andromeda, I'll just get this".

Teddy unfurled the parchment from the owls leg, took it upstairs, and left it on his table where he put all his mail. He would read it later, he promised himself, as he went back down the stairs.

"What were you saying, anyway?" He asked.

"Never mind, Love." Andromeda smiled. "I'm going off to bed. Goodnight."


	5. Chapter 5: Of Locke and Secrets

A figure in a long black cape popped out of thin air. He glanced left and right, before hurrying down the road, with the air of a desperate man. For a while he swept along, taking what appeared to be random detours left and right. Anyone would think he was trying to confuse, to shake someone from his trail.

After an hour of walking, he finally reached his destination, a small cottage, the only one on its street. He raised a fist, and pounded on the door.

It was opened a sliver, and a large, dark eye, with a heavy brow, was visible. The man on the outside lowered his hood, and the sliver of light illuminated his face. The eye widened, and its owner moved to shut the door, but the cloaked man put his foot in the gap.

"Evening, Rabastan," He said, pleasantly.

"Please, leave," Rabastan begged.

"Now," the first man said, amused. "That there is absolutely no way to greet your only brother. Mother would be turning in her grave."

"Just go, Rudolphus."

"Not yet," The man named Rudolphus hissed. I have a proposition for you first. And, if you aren't agreeable to what I have to say, I'll leave you be. But until you listen to me, I am not leaving."

Rabastan hesitated, and then opened the door wide enough for his brother to enter. Rudolphus nodded as he entered, and turned to shut the door softly behind him. Rabastan then led the way through the shadowy hallway into the equally dim sitting room.

"Why are you here, Rudolphus?" Rabastan sat on a hard wooden chair, and gestured for Rudolphus to do the same.

"I need your assistance in a personal matter I entrust only to my own flesh and blood." Rudolphus said, ignoring his brother's silent request to take a seat.

"I'm not your brother anymore" said Rabastan quickly. "The Ministry gave me a new identity after… everything. I'm Demetrius Locke now."

"And married with two little Lockes, I see," Rudolphus had found the only photograph in the house, and was looking at it.

"Hardly little," Rabastan said, hesitant to give his brother any information. "Sebastian is eighteen, and Desdemona is thirteen."

"And do they know," Rudolphus said, coolly. "Do they know about what you used to be?"

Rabastan paused. "They know I used to be a Death Eater." He said, after deliberation. "It is impossible to hide a Dark Mark forever. But no, they do not know that I'm Rabastan Lestrange."

"Good," Rudolphus said. "All the more incentive for you to co-operate."

"Rudolphus," Rabastan, or Demetrius, sounded wary. "I don't know what you expect me to do, but I can assure you, I want no part in it…"

"You will have a part in it." Rudolphus said, firmly.

"And why is that?"

"Because if you don't, I will go to the Ministry and tell them the truth." Rudolphus looked smug. "I shouldered the blame last time. You lied to stay out of Azkaban, and out of love for my little brother, I concurred with your mistruths. I told the ministry I had you under the Imperius curse for the duration of both wars, and that you never raised your wand during the Longbottoms torture. I would have thought," he added, and unconvincing look of pain on his face "that after such a great sacrifice on your behalf, you might want to help me. But also, because if you don't, I will tell your children who you were, right before I ensure they go the same way as the Longbottoms."

Rabastan went pale. "You… you… alright. I'll help you."

"Good man." Rudolphus sounded pleased. "You might want to call your son down, his help will be required. Sebastian, did you say his name was?"


	6. Chapter 6: Of Lists and Cake

6

For a week, Teddy's life was relatively peaceful. After that, Victoire went in to full wedding-mode.  
>"After all, "she said with a tinkling laugh. "We only have eleven weeks! Here is a list of things I<p>

Want you to do. As soon as possible, preferably. It is such short notice, we want to make sure we have things the way I need them!"  
>"You expect me to do all this?" Teddy said, weakly, skimming the list of 67 things he had to order, pick up, or choose.<br>"It's about a fifth of what needs to be done, but I can take care of the rest," she assured him in what was evidently meant to be a calming tone.  
>"Vic, I want to help, but I don't even know where to start with half of this stuff."<br>"Dominique does." Victoire said. "She'll be helping you. I just want her out of my hair. If she suggests one more time that we dress the bridesmaids in turquoise to match your hair…" Victoire gave a shudder, and Teddy snorted.  
>"Not a bad idea," he said. Victoire looked at him, sharply.<br>"Your hair," she practically snarled "WILL NOT BE TURQOIUSE FOR MY WEDDING!"

"Morning," Dominique yawned, entering the Weasley's kitchen, where Victoire and Teddy were sat at the table. She had clearly just got up, even though it was half past twelve, as her bright pink hair was sticking up and she was in a pair of black leggings, an oversize, orange Chudley Canon's t-shirt that clashed magnificently with her hair, and a pair of white furry boots that looked, in Teddy's opinion, liked she had skinned two baby yetis and stuffed her feet in them.  
>"What was that I just heard, Victoire?" Dominique headed straight for the cereal cupboard and poured herself a generous bowl of Cheeriowls, topped with three tablespoons of sugar. "Are you letting Teddy have blue hair for your wedding now?"<br>"No" Victoire said icily. "I am not."  
>"Shame," Dominique said, tucking in to her Cheeriowls. "I think it suits him much better that colour than any other. No offence, Teddy," she added, looking at him.<br>"None taken."  
>"I told you to be ready for one," Victoire said, raising her eyebrows in an expectant manner. "Why are you still in your pyjamas?"<br>"Because," Dominique said although her mouth was full to the brim, and accidently spraying Victoire with cereal crumbs, "it's only twelve thirty, so I still have fifteen minute to lounge around until I get dressed."  
>"Lucky you," Teddy said. Victoire had demanded his presence at ten that morning, a time where he preferred to be lying in his bed with his eyes closed, thinking of absolutely nothing.<br>"Go," Victoire hissed. She looked rather menacing. "And get dressed. Now."  
>"Alright!" Dominique rolled her eyes, and placed her bowl on the side. "I'll go," she departed from the kitchen and thundered up the stairs.<br>"Victoire…" Teddy said.  
>"What?" She snapped.<br>"You have a Cheeriowl stuck to your cheek.

"So, what item on your list do you feel like doing today?" Dominique said, twenty minutes later.  
>Teddy scanned the list for something interesting.<br>"The only thing here I give a damn about is the cake," he wrinkled his nose. "The rest doesn't even matter. Why the hell do I need to buy ink made from real gold?"  
>"You know, I asked the same thing," Dominique grinned. "She said it was to give the invitations class. I said to put a charm on the envelope so it sings the details when you open it. You know," she cleared her throat, and sang in a high soprano: "It is Teddy and Victoire's wedding day on April the ninth! Come at eleven for the ceremony!"<br>"Shut up," Teddy laughed. "You know she would never go for that."  
>"Teddy, even I wouldn't go for that, it's just funny winding her up," Dominique smiled. "So we're getting the cake then? Excellent, I could do with the free samples."<br>"You just had a big bowl of Cheeriowls," Teddy pointed out.  
>"Yes," sighed Dominique "but there is always room for cake." She patted her completely flat stomach.<br>"One day, it's all going to catch up with you, Dominique Weasley," Teddy did such a good impersonation of Victoire; Dominique looked around to check that she wasn't present.  
>"Oh well," she smirked when she realised Victoire hadn't come storming up the garden path, which they were stood at the bottom of. "It isn't going to stop me from trying every cake in Honeydukes until we find the nicest one."<br>"Not if I try them all first," Teddy said.


	7. Chapter 7: Of Meetings and Leavings

Dominique groaned holding her stomach.  
>"So. Much. Cake." She held onto her stomach, breathing out heavily so it expanded. She looked as ill as Teddy felt. At first, eating free samples of all the cake in Honeydukes had been like a dream come true for Dominique and Teddy. However, they completely abused this, and, after stuffing their faces with chocolate cake, carrot cake, fruit cake, sponge cake, amongst many other endless cakes Teddy didn't even know the name of, the novelty wore off rapidly. Teddy nodded in consensus, as Dominique pushed open her front door.<p>

"Hi, Dommie," Bill said, holding his arms out for his youngest daughter. Dominique kissed him, directly on the thick rope of scar that knotted down his face. Victoire never did that, Teddy mused. She always sat on the unscathed side of him, refusing to look at the "ugly" scars on her father's face, claiming it made her queasy. Teddy had a sudden flash-back to his eighth birthday, where a three-year-old Dominique sat on her father's lap, tracing the permanent scratches on his face with her fingers, examining them with interest.  
>"Somebody here for you, Love," Bill informed her, smiling.<br>"Me?" Dominique sounded surprised "Who?"  
>"Well… you'll see. In the kitchen."<br>Dominique pushed open the kitchen door. A young man was sat at the table.

A young man sat at the table, next to Victoire, who was eyeing him in a slightly confused manner. He looked no older then nineteen, Dominique's age. He had shoulder length brown hair, tied in a ponytail with a black ribbon that matched his clothing- a black jacket over a silk shirt, unbuttoned at the throat. He had grey eyes and was wearing a broad smile that did not reach them.  
>"Dom," he said in a low, gravelly voice as she entered the room, standing up.<br>"Sebastian?" Dominique frowned. "What are you doing here?"  
>The young man, Sebastian, held out his hand to Dominique, who in turn held out her own. Sebastian brought it to his lips, leaving them lingering on her skin a second longer then was necessary, which made Teddy's skin crawl uneasily.<br>"Just thought I'd check how you were. I haven't seen you since school, after all."  
>"You barely saw me in school," Dominique half-grinned, eyes narrowed. "I think the only thing you ever said to me in our whole time there was 'clumsy idiot' that time I ran into you and you dropped all your transfiguration notes on the floor."<br>Teddy fought the urge to laugh.

"Dominique?" Bill said politely. "Do you mind telling me how you know each other?"  
>"Oh, yeah. Right. Sebastian was in my year at school. He was in Slytherin." Dominique said.<br>"And Dominic here was in Gryffindor" Sebastian told everyone, who looked at each other, confusedly.  
>"Urm… Domin-IQUE was a Hufflepuff," Teddy said, frowning slightly. Sebastian laughing mirthlessly.<br>"Of course, I was thinking about her cousin. Lucy was in our year also. They spent a lot of time together, I forget she wasn't in the same house."  
>"You could have at least got her name right" Teddy pointed out.<br>"Honest mistake, I never could get my head around French pronunciation." Sebastian retorted, slickly. Teddy glared at him, and cocked his head to the side.

"What did you say your surname was?"  
>"I didn't. But its Locke."<br>"Who are your parents?"  
>"My father is Demetrius Locke."<br>"You're muggle-born?"  
>"Pure-blood."<br>"I've never known a pure-blood called Locke."  
>"Teddy," Victoire interrupted suddenly. "Why is your hair bright red?"<br>"Oh yeah," Teddy said, feeling his face flush as red as his hair. "Forgot…"  
>"Change it at once, you look common," Victoire demanded, looking disgusted. "And can you come and talk to me a moment. Outside," she added pointedly.<p>

Teddy followed his fiancée out of the kitchen, and into her bedroom.  
>"What," she said, pulling the door shut behind her "was that about?"<br>"What do you mean?" Teddy asked, confused.  
>"You, down there." Victoire said, acidly. "The guy comes to ask Dominique out, and you make it a game of twenty-one questions?"<br>"He's coming to ask her out?" Teddy wrinkled his nose. "She can do way better than that…"  
>"No, she can't." Victoire cut him off. "The girl's never had a boyfriend in her life. I'M the one guys want;" she flicked her shiny blonde hair behind her shoulder "This is her first chance to be happy. Let her be."<br>Teddy opened her mouth to retort, and then closed it again. He didn't like fighting with Victoire, who would pout and whine until she won.  
>"You're right," he sighed. "Sorry."<br>"Of course I am," smiled Victoire happily. "On a different note, are you staying tonight?"  
>"Urm… Sorry, but I'm so tired, and Andromeda wanted me to go through the Prophet with her, looking for somewhere we can live after the wedding," Teddy lied, not meeting her eye.<br>"Oh, right" Victoire said. Teddy knew the only reason she was not objecting to him going home was because she was desperate for her own house. He kissed her swiftly, feeling guilty.  
>"I better go, it's getting late."<p>

Victoire slipped her arms around Teddy and held him close. They stood there for a minute, holding each other, Teddy smelling the familiar scent of her hair.  
>"Night, Vic" Teddy kissed her again, on the forehead this time.<br>"I love you," she told him.

As he disapparated home, the familiar feeling of hatred filled Teddy, as he wondered how much longer he could keep his biggest secret from Victoire.

**A/N, I'm reeeeally unhappy with this chapter :/ I just can't get it bridged over between the last and the next without it. And I need to introduce Sebastian somehow.**

**Tiny bit of Tedtoire in there. I know _most_ of you don't like my version of her, but she is his fiancee after all :) **

**thank you to Cassia4u, Leville, BrightestWitchOfAllTime, Cherriesxoxo2496, and clovetf for the reviews!**


	8. Chapter 8: Of Transformations and Toast

"Running a bit late, Teddy!" Andromeda said, panic in her voice.  
>"I know," Teddy said. "Have you made the potion?" Andromeda nodded, and handed him a goblet of a slightly smoking liquid. Teddy downed it in one, and fought the urge to retch every drop back up. It burned on its way down, scorching him from the inside out.<p>

"Shall I lock you in?" Andromeda said. Teddy nodded. He ran up the stairs, entered his bedroom, shutting the door behind him, took his clothes off, and stood by the window, watching the sun sink, the moon slowly creep into view.

Suddenly, a violent pang of agony tore through Teddy's entire body. He felt his bones creak, and reshape. His spine curved, his legs elongated, hair sprouted wildly from every pore of his skin, and his teeth sharpened, and grew to the length of piano keys. Padding slowly around the room, Teddy caught sight of his reflection in the mirror, and a wolf with yellow eyes stared back at him.

He had not always been a werewolf. He wasn't even sure he was one, in fact. After his first transformation, which took place in the summer between his third and fourth year at Hogwarts, he had bit Andromeda on the arm, and she did not become like him. He supposed it was something inherited from his father: a kind of water-down form of lycanthropy. Letting out a sigh, Teddy curled up, sighing deeply.

His first transformation completely shocked him and Andromeda, and they were not prepared. Ever since, he had been sure to take the Wolf's Bane potion every month- even though he could not pass it on, he was still extremely dangerous when he was transformed, and had the potential to injure, and, possibly, kill.

He had never told anybody other than his grandmother about what happened every month. He couldn't bring himself to. Nobody would understand. He himself didn't understand. For years when he was younger, he would try his hardest to use his metamorphmagus ability to turn himself human. All he could do was change the colour of his fur.

"Morning," Andromeda said tentatively, after Teddy had woken, back in human form.  
>"Morning," Teddy replied, ruffling his hair, which was grey today. Distinguished, he thought. He wasn't sure if Victoire would like it. But he had bigger problems now. Like how he was going to tell her about being a werewolf.<p>

Perhaps, he pondered as he took a large bite of the toast Andromeda had provided for him, that was the reason he let Victoire get her own way. If he made her as happy as possible, she might not care about what he was. He wasn't sure. All he knew was that she was the first girl he had every found beautiful enough to want, and the only girl he had ever been desperate enough to go to any lengths to keep.

"Love, while we're here, I need to talk to you about something."  
>"What about?" Teddy asked, finishing his toast and wiping his hands on his jeans.<br>Andromeda bit her lip. "Victoire."  
>"What about her?" Teddy said, knowing what's coming.<br>"You have to tell her, Ted…"  
>"I will," Teddy said, irritably. "Just… not now."<br>"Teddy, you're getting married in little over two months, she deserves to know now, to give her time to get used to the idea before the wedding, time to decide…"  
>"Whether she wants to be with me or not?" Teddy said coldly.<br>"Teddy, I'm sure she'll love you, no matter what you are."  
>"Really?" Teddy said, his tone still icy. "Because I don't. I think that as soon as she finds out, she'll run a mile. Like any woman would," he added bitterly.<br>"Not all women would, Teddy," Andromeda said, kindly.  
>"Name one who wouldn't" spat Teddy, feeling highly irritated now.<br>"Dominique." Pointed out Andromeda.  
>"True," Teddy conceded. "But I was talking about a woman I could spend my life with, not a friend."<br>"So was I." Said Andromeda. Teddy laughed, loudly.  
>"Dominique?" he shook his head. "She's just a child."<br>"She's nearly nineteen." Andromeda amended him. "Two years older than Victoire was when you fell in love with her. The same age you were. She's not a child, Teddy."  
>"And what," Teddy said, still finding the idea of him and Dominique ludicrous "separates Victoire and Dominique from each other so badly you would rather see me with Dom?"<br>Andromeda paused for a moment, and then said, delicately. "She doesn't remind me of your mother."


	9. Chapter 9: Of Firewhiskey and Blue Eyes

"You look terrible", Victoire said bluntly, opening the door to a sleepy-looking Teddy. "Sorry," Teddy yawned. "It's hard to sleep sometimes."

"Well, make sure you take a potion for that before the wedding, bags under your eyes is not going to look good in the photos!" Victoire ushered him in and took off his coat.  
>"Dominique!" She called up the stairs. "That girl sleeps more than anyone I've ever known…"<br>"What do you need her for?" Teddy asked, entering the kitchen, empty, save for himself and Victoire, who followed.  
>"Mum and I are going wedding dress shopping, Dom and you need to do the seating plan for the reception. I've left some notes on who to sit and who not to sit where."<br>"Why?"  
>"Why? Good god, Teddy, it would be complete havoc if we let people sit just anywhere." Victoire gave a little shudder, as though the mere thought of such a palaver caused her physical disgust. "Uncle Harry's coming over later. Listen, who have you chose as best man? Because I really think it should be him. I mean, I know he's my uncle, and technically nothing to do with you, but it would be a talking point."<br>"He is Teddy's godfather," Dominique entered the room, her eyes puffy, her hair a tangle of shocking candy floss on her head.  
>"Oh yes, I forgot. Even more reason to ask him!" Victoire said chirpily. "Well, I'm off to find a dress, goodbye!" And with that she danced out of the room.<p>

"How," Dominique said, pouring herself a coffee and sinking into a chair by the kitchen table, "anyone could be that upbeat at this time in the morning is beyond me." Teddy drew up a chair next to her.  
>"I've never seen you drink coffee before." Teddy noted, sinking down in the chair opposite her.<br>"You've never seen me the night after getting off my head on fire-whiskey." Dominique replied grimly, taking a large swill of the coffee and pulling a face. "Disgusting stuff."  
>"What, the firewhiskey, or the coffee?"<br>"The coffee." Dominique said, pushing the mug away from her and looking queasy. "Give me firewhiskey anyday."  
>"What was the occasion last night?" Teddy asked. "Why were you drinking?"<br>"Sebastian took me out," Dominique replied, almost guiltily. To Teddy's surprise, he felt extreme indignation.  
>"Why?" he asked, attempting to keep his voice calm, and suspecting he was failing. Dominique shrugged.<br>"Said he realised how much he liked me at school, and wanted to get back in touch to see how I feel about him."  
>"And how do you feel about him?" Teddy asked, leaning back on his chair, and trying not to let the outrage show on his face. When Dominique spoke again, it was in a different voice.<br>"It's funny, I didn't think I'd enjoy myself. But it was nice, for once, to have all the attention on me. There was no 'your sister is so beautiful', or 'your brother is so clever'. For once, somebody thought I was pretty, and clever, and funny, and worth being around." She blushed almost as pink as her hair. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to go off on one like that. I just feel a little bit… forgotten sometimes."  
>"I think your pretty, and clever, and funny, and worth being around!" Teddy said, unable to keep the words crammed in his mouth. For a moment, they looked at each other, her large, blue eyes even wider than usual, boring into the grey ones Teddy modelled on his father. A heartbeat that lasted forever, and then:<br>"I think," Dominique said slowly, "we should get started on the seating plan."


	10. Chapter 10: Of Lost Ones and Revalations

The awkwardness that hung in the air was heavy, as Teddy and Dominique worked as silently as they could, occasionally asking each other to change where a specific person was sat. Teddy noticed Dominique had left several empty spaces in the seating plan- one on the side where the bride's family sit, and three in the groom's. Whenever he made to put someone there, she would erase their name, and put them in the second row. Teddy didn't ask why- he was too busy panicking over the spasm of electricity that jolted through his entire body at the feel of Dominique's skin again his own. What was going on?

They sat working for a while in uncomfortable quietness, in which Teddy felt something that he needed to ask Dominique was dancing in front of him, just too far away for him to be able to understand. After a few hours, there was a rapt knocking at the door. Dominique went to answer, and Teddy felt himself, suddenly, being engulfed by the energy of the Potter family.  
>"Hey, Teddy!" Harry's eldest son, James, grinned, flicking a fringe of scruffy black hair behind his shoulder.<br>"Hiya, James. Albus," Teddy nodded at James' younger brother, who was wearing a giant grin. One of the only things the Potter boys agreed on was joint admiration for Teddy.  
>"Hey, Ted, guess what," James said, leaning towards Teddy and murmuring in a low voice, so his father, who Teddy could hear chatting to Dominique in the hallway, could not detect his voice. "I found this map in my dad's drawer, it was written by…"<p>

His words were cut off by the entry of Harry, and his wife Ginny, into the room.  
>"Harry!" Teddy stood up and embraced the only father he had ever known.<br>"How're you, Teddy?" his godfather said, brushing his dark hair from his startling green eyes.  
>"I'm fine, thanks,"<br>"Wedding stuff not getting to you? It was the most stressful time of my life…"  
>"What was that, dear?" Ginny said, eyes narrowed.<br>"Urm… I mean... best. It was the best time of my life."  
>Teddy snorted.<br>"Two months now, isn't it?" Dominique said, leaning on the doorframe, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. With a sinking heart, Teddy realised she was right. Two months, and he would be chained to Victoire forever. For the first time, a feeling of foreboding came over him. Two months… it was so close. He looked at Dominique, again right in the eyes, and the feeling of foreboding disappeared. Again, they had a few moments of eye contact, electricity flowing from one to the other. What was going on? Teddy wondered furiously. Why couldn't he tear himself away from Dominique's eyes?  
>"Urm, Teddy?" James waved his hand in the older boys faced. "HELLO? What are you staring at?" He looked past Dominique, as though there was something behind her shoulder worth gawping at.<p>

Teddy was saved from answering by the front door opening for a second time, and Fleur and Victoire entering, the latter with a huge smile on my face.  
>"I found the dress!" She squealed excitedly to the room.<br>"What's it like?" Lily Luna pressed, eagerly.  
>"It's really…"<br>"Ah ah ah!" Fleur cried, holding up her hand to silence Victoire. "You cannot say! Ze groom is in the room!"  
>"Oh. Yes." Victoire looked thoroughly disappointed. "Let's see how you did with the seating plan, then." She grabbed the large sheet of parchment, and pulled it towards her. For a few moments, she read it, and then two small frown lines appeared between her eyes, the eyes that were so like her sisters. That had to be it, thought Teddy. Looking into Dominique's eyes is just like looking into Victoire's eyes. Victoire jerked her head up, and Teddy tried looking into her eyes. No good. The sparkle that was in Dominique's was completely absent in her older sister. What was happening to him?<br>"Why," Victoire said in a low, dangerous voice. Teddy was almost surprised that there wasn't smoke shooting out of her nostrils. "Is there four gaps in the front row? Dominique, I TOLD you to leave all the empty spaces at the back!"  
>"They won't be empty." Dominique said calmly. "They're actually going to be filled by very important people."<br>"Well, where are the ushers going to know where to sit them? Who is it?"  
>"You'll know when you do." Dominique shrugged. Victoire burst into angry tears.<br>"I can't believe you're doing this to me!" She wailed.  
>"Dominique," Fleur sighed. "Please… just tell your sister who eez sitting there?"<br>"Fine!" Dominique shouted. Her ears were as pink as the hair tucked behind them. Teddy recognised this immediately as the classic Weasley sign of embarrassment. Victoire had never inherited this trait. Upon seeing it, Teddy felt himself internally smiling at the cuteness of it. He shook his head slightly. Fiancée's sister! He told himself, sternly. He watched as Dominique stormed forward, snatched a pen from the table, bent over the seating plan, and scrawled across the empty seats, in large capital letters:  
>FRED WEASLEY<br>NYMPHADORA LUPIN  
>REMUS LUPIN<br>TED TONKS

She threw the pen at Victoire, before turning on her heel and marching from the room, leaving a stunned silence behind her. Teddy quickly looked around at everyone's facial expressions. Fleur and Ginny had tears in their eyes. Harry was looking at his feet, his breathing slowed. James, Lily, and Albus had all retreated to the far corner of the room, unwilling to take a part in the proceedings. Victoire, however, looked mutinous.  
>"What," She said, bending over the paper and crossing out Fred's name. "A" Nymphadora was crossed out. "Ridiculous" Remus's name was nothing more than a scribbled line. "Idea." With a final flourish, Ted's name was indecipherable.<br>"Victoire!" Ginny's voice was high. "I cannot believe you did that! That was such a lovely idea!"  
>"But it's going to ruin the whole symmetry of the ceremony. We're not doing it." Victoire said, decisively.<br>"Kids," Harry said, go outside for a moment. His three children scuttled away, giving each other meaningful looks.  
>"Teddy." Harry turned to him. "I think it might be best if you left the room, too."<br>Teddy nodded, and left the room. He ran up the stairs, wondering where Dominique had gone, and into the bathroom. He lent over the sink and splashed his face with cold water. It had been a lovely idea of Dominique's, he thought, but the blow of seeing Victoire cross out the names of his family, his dead parents and grandfather, had twisted his brain like a dish cloth.

Several minutes later, he decided to return to the fray in the kitchen. He crossed the landing, pattered down the stairs, and was about to walk through the hallway, into the kitchen, when an arm flew out from his left. Dominique was stood there, her hand on his chest to prevent him from going any further. She shook her head to indicate to him not to make a sound, then pointed to her ear, and then the kitchen in a sign that clearly demonstrated to listen.

"I don't understand" Victoire was saying. "His parent's chose to die. I don't see why I should sacrifice things on my big day, just for that!"  
>"They didn't choose to die!" Harry was saying, his voice angry. "They fought for what was right!"<br>"Well... zey didn't have to fight that night." Fleur said, hesitantly.  
>"What do you mean?" Ginny demanded, and Teddy pictured her fingering her wand under her robes. "You were there that night, you know what was at stake, why they had to join the battle."<br>"Zat was before I had children!" Fleur pointed out. "Eef I had a child, waiting at 'ome, I wouldn't have made the choice Tonks did! Her order zat night was to stay home with 'er baby. She chose not to, knowing full well what could 'appen! 'Er place was with her son, and she left him. She didn't have to fight, she chose to. She put honour before her own son."

Teddy could vaguely hear Dominique clutching his arm, putting a hand on his cheek, asking if he was alright. But he was a million miles away, numb, in a place where nobody could reach him.

**Hello guys, Shanna here.**

**I would just like to take a moment to sincerely thank EVERYONE who has favourited this story, or has favourited me as an author. Me! You guys like things I wrote! Madness! And to all you who have put me on alert as well, sorry for the email you will get, thinking I have uploaded a new chapter, but really it's just me, being all cheesy and slushy.**

**I have got some AMAZING feedback on this story, truly. I would like to send out an extra-special thank you to everyone who reviewed this. It means so much that you would take time out of your lives to share you thought on my story!**

**Now, one little niggle. I would reeeally love it if more of you reviewed! The only way I'm ever going to improve as a writer is if you let me know your thoughts. What do you like? What do you hate with a burning passion? Even if it's just to completely pick the story apart and trash what I've been working on for months, I will still appreciate and take on board the criticism!**

**finally, something I should have done ten chapters ago, but I always forget to. The disclaimer. I own nothing. Everything you have read for ten chapters is property of the queen, J K Rowling. This story is merely a twisted manipulation of everything she wrote. Thank you.**

**I lied, one more thing. If you have read my other stories, I'm taking a break, for now, from those. I've bitten off more than I can chew, and can only focus on one thing at a time. So this is my one thing. I will come back to them, after finishing this, and refresh my enthusiasm for each and every one of them. But I have a very specific list of the order in which I am finishing them, with a few that haven't yet been posted on here thrown in. The order is this, for anybody interested:**

**The order in which I will be writing my fanfiction:**  
><strong>Nox (The one you're reading now) Johanna (If you like the Hunger Games, please check this out!)**  
><strong>Arms, Head, Heart (Next Gen, James Potter II- unposted)<strong>  
><strong>The Secret Potter (AU, Harry's sister, Ella)<strong>  
><strong>I Solemnly Swear (Marauders)<strong>  
><strong>Lumos (The sequel to Nox Haven't even started yet)<strong>  
><strong>To The Core (Draco again, as yet unwritten)<strong>  
><strong>Chasing Dragons (Charlie Weasley)<strong>  
><strong>Learning to Cry (AU, Sirius Black I love it this one, but progress is slow, hence why it's last)<strong>  
><strong>The Change in Me (LupinTonks probably a prequel to Nox)**

**thanks again.**

**Shanna**


	11. Chapter 11: Of Photographs and Letters

**I don't usually do author notes, but I may start. **  
><strong>First off, SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN SO LONG! life just got crazy mad. <strong>  
><strong>Second, thanks for all the favourites, but a review would be appreciated, even if it is just a score out of ten.<strong>  
><strong>Third, I really hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did.<strong>  
><strong>Thanks :) <strong>  
><strong>Shanna <strong>

* * *

><p>A pounding rippled through Teddy's head, like a hammer on his skull, and it took a moment to realise the sound filling his ears was his sped-up heartbeat. He could vaguely hear Dominique calling his name, waving her hand in front of his face, clutching his shoulder. He shook her off, roughly, sending her toppling down the stairs with a loud bang. Teddy ignored her, as stomped through to the kitchen. Fleur and Victoire jumped at his arrival, both looking shiftily guilty. Harry half-rose from his seat, but Teddy did not give him time to say comforting words, to smooth the situation over. He bolted to the back door, threw it open, and apparated, to where he was not sure. A happy place, he thought with desperation. He thought, afterwards, it was a miracle he didn't splinch himself, but some subconscious part of his mind knew that this was the place he would always be happy, because of the person he associated it with.<p>

He was on a sunny hilltop, under a magnificent oak tree, which he lay under. The calm and stillness of the surroundings was the complete opposite of the inner storm coursing through his body, burning Fleur's words into his soul. His mother, the woman he always viewed as a tragic heroine, sacrificing her life for the good of her son. Forced into the fray. A ripple of anger, of crushing devastation emerged from deep in his heart. She didn't have to go. She chose death instead of a life with her son. Glory was more important to her then her infant child.

A crack echoed through the silent atmosphere, and Dominique tumbled into vision, her shock of bright pink hair tossing in the light breeze. Teddy realised just how long it was, easily falling to her waist. With a jolt, he noticed a purple bruise blossoming on her eyebrow where she'd fell. Stood there, with her bubble-gum hair, too small t-shirt, and patched jeans, it struck Teddy for the first time just how much like his mum she was, in the one picture he had of her in his room. But, when she had arrived, Teddy felt all the anger evaporate from his system, and another feeling he couldn't place replacing it. Though a pleasant feeling, mixed with the sadness inside him, he promptly burst into tears, and Dominique fell to her knees, throw her arms around Teddy, and held him close as he sobbed into her chest.

"How did you know where I was?" Teddy choked as he calmed down. Dominique released him and sat back on her knees.  
>"Just a hunch."<br>For the first time, Teddy noticed the hill was the one he and Dominique has escaped to at his engagement party.  
>"Bit of a long shot," he said, lightly. Dominique shrugged<br>"Not really,"  
>Teddy looked up into her eyes, the baby blue hoops surrounding the ebony circle, fading into a sparkling sapphire on the outside. He'd never noticed that before, and found himself falling into them. He struggled to think of the exact shade of Victoire's eyes. Just that they were blue. As he bathed in Dominique's gaze, he noticed her stare was boring straight back into him, steely and unmoving.<br>"She loved you," she said simply. "I know she did. I was saving this for your wedding day, but you need it more now" she produced a huge, tatty, leather book from the canvas bag slung over her shoulder. Teddy took it with curiosity, and his mouth fell open as he thumbed through it.

It was filled with photographs, and snippets of letters. Each scrap of paper stuck to the pages had the date and a brief explanation, printed carefully in silver ink, next to it. Teddy had only ever seen one picture each of both of them, as he thought this was all that existed.  
>"How did you get this?" he said, his mouth falling open.<br>"Your gran helped," Dominique admitted "I've been going every day to see her and we've spent loads of time gathering all this stuff. Uncle Harry and I found loads of stuff in Grimmauld Place. That's were all your parents stuff from their house was put." she explained. "And I tracked down some people they went to school with, too."  
>Teddy looked upon the face of his mother, aged three. He saw letters written by both his parents, traced the long-ago quill scratches. His writing was a lot like his fathers: tidy, with lots of neat loops and swirls. Feminine writing, as Dominique teased him for when she once opened a birthday card from him years ago. His mother's writing was the opposite: untidy, chatty, hard to decipher. Teddy spent a long time looking, touching, reading. Then he got to the last page.<p>

The top left corner of the page was occupied by a photograph Teddy had never seen before. His mother was swinging him around her head, and a baby Teddy was screaming with mirth. His father looked on in the background, smiling at his family.  
>The bottom of the page was occupied by an envelope; it's back stuck to the book's parchment. Teddy looked at Dominique, uncertainly. She nodded at him, smiling.<br>"Open it," she urged him.

With trembling fingers, Teddy opened the envelope and removed the letter. The parchment was yellowing and old. He unfolded it, carefully, and his mother's now-familiar scrawl greeted him.

"Dear Teddy," it read,

"It's your wedding day! Congratulations, my lovely boy. In an ideal world, I'll be with you now, crying my eyes out that my oldest boy is flying the nest, while you remind me of your five brothers and sisters that I still have at home (I hope your father doesn't read this, he doesn't know we're having five more kids... Yet!).

But the world isn't perfect, as I'm sure you've figured out. Sometimes, you can't have the ideal, and you just have to... Deal, I guess. Heart-breaking and terrifying as it is.

If you're reading this, then I'm not here to celebrate it with you. Hopefully, your dad will be there (and if he is, I hope he hasn't married some young blonde thing and forgotten about me), but I know that might not happen as well.

I'm writing this to my baby boy, but you'll be reading it as a young man. You'll know the score. You'll know all about Voldemort, and the Order of the Phoenix, and that me and your dad fought to stop him. I know I should have done less after you were born, but I couldn't stay in the shadows and let everyone else do the work. I needed to be in the thick of it, because if I wasn't, I would have failed as a mother. I needed to create a world where you can grow up safe and happy, the most handsome, coolest little half-werewolf metamorphmagus kid ever.

But enough about me. Today is your day. Your day, and your new wife's. She better treat you like a king, because of she doesn't, tell her I'll haunt her until the end of her days! Just kidding... Kind of.

Being in love is the best thing ever, isn't it? Looking in their eyes and noticing everything about them. Being with somebody who understands you, and loves you, and, in your eyes, is perfect?

Remember one thing, son. You deserve happiness. And I will always love you, if I'm there or not.

Your mother."

Teddy looked up at Dominique. Sweet, kind, funny Dominique, who understood him like nobody else. And then something clicked. He pushed the book to one side, took her hands in his, and kissed her, right there on the hilltop.


	12. Chapter 12: Of Kisses and Fights

It was very different, kissing Victoire and kissing Dominique. Victoire's kisses tasted of harsh, unnatural mint were forceful, her lips sticky with gloss and hard against Teddy's own. Dominique's were sweeter, softer, like feathers on his face. Teddy drew Dominique into his arms, and lay down, laying her gently on his chest. His senses were on fire: all that existed was the feel of Dominique's slim frame against his own, her lips, pressing eagerly into him, and the feel of her silky hair as it swung through his fingers.

It ended suddenly. Dominique was up and pacing the hillside before Teddy even realised they were no longer kissing.  
>"Dom..." he began, his voice husky with emotion, standing up and reaching for her again.<br>"Don't!" she cried, lunging backward and holding her arms out in front of her to keep him away.  
>"Dom!" Teddy repeated, shocked this time. She shook her head, vigorously<br>"my sister, Teddy! You're marrying my sister!"  
>"But I don't have to!" teddy said, grabbing Dominique's hand. "I don't love her, Dom. It's you."<br>Dominique softened for a second, and then a steely look, akin to one Teddy had seen before on Ginny, appeared on her face.  
>"It's not me, Teddy. Victoire is the one you want. And you're marrying her."<br>"But..."  
>"But what Teddy?" Dominique wrenched her hand from Teddy's grasp and strode back towards the oak tree, clearly agitated. "Say you call off the engagement. Then what? We still couldn't be together. Victoire would never talk to me again! We may not see eye to eye, but she's my big sister. I love her. I would never hurt her."<br>"But you have no problem hurting me? My feelings don't matter?" Teddy roared, his previous anger returning. "I don't want Victoire. I want you Dominique. And if I marry Victoire, it will break my heart every day, seeing you, knowing you could have been mine..."  
>"How do you think it's been for me?" Dominique screeched, her voice echoing in the surroundings, causing several birds to take wing. "I've been in love with you since I was five years old, Teddy! How do you think that's felt, for me? I ADORED you. You were my life. But to you, it was Victoire this and Victoire that. All your life, you've always wanted my sister. Just like everyone else." she spat. Teddy saw tears begin to spring in her eyes, and for the first time appreciated how hard things must have been for Dominique growing up- second best to everything Victoire did. Not as pretty. Not as clever. Just clumsy, funny little Dominique. He remembered her as a child, always trying to get his attention. For the first time, he realised how often he'd ignored her, spurned her in favour of the company of her model sister. For the first time, in Teddy's eyes, she wasn't Dominique, Victoire's-kid-sister. She was Dominique, a beautiful, feisty, witty young woman. And Teddy's heart ached when he realised just how much of this Dominique he had missed out on.<br>"Dominique, I'm sorry, I didn't know..."  
>"No." She wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "There's a lot you didn't know. Like that you felt the same way. You didn't know your own feelings. Until Sebastian came along, that is." she stood up, glaring at Teddy with a hatred he had never seen in her eyes before. "Bit of a coincidence, isn't it, Teddy?" she snapped, her words loaded with venom.<p>

And then she disapparated, leaving Teddy alone on the suddenly windy hilltop, her parting words ringing in his ears.

* * *

><p><strong>My friend, who betas this for me, hates me now for this. Muhahaha.<strong>

**Well, we're only 12 chapters in, you didn't expect it to be plain sailing, did you?**

**Having said that, we're actually not too far from the end of the story. 6 or 7 more chapters should do it, I think.  
>Review please? :3 <strong>


	13. Author Note

Hello guys, remember me?

It's took me a long while to get back into writing... I don't really have an excuse except for a wicked case of writers block. I'm through it now and after that I just... lost interest I guess? In fanfiction anyway. I've been writing a lot of my own stuff recently and much as I like doing that, there's just something comforting about fanfiction that makes me happy. It truly is a joy to write.

Anyhow, I was reading this through. I have never given up on this story but... I hit a dead end. I wasn't sure where I wanted it to go. And after reviewing it, my writing style has changed so much.

So I'm rewriting, and changing this. The storyline so far will stay the same. I just want to edit the story to reflect my growth and development as a writer.

If you're still interested in reading what happens to Teddy and Dominique, I'd like to thank you for sticking by this story. If not, I completely understand, as it's taken me ten months to update.

Thank you for reading my ramblings, Shanna


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